Ring carrying normally concealed data



May 30, 1967 R. L. BOYD RING CARRYING NORMALLY CONCEALED DATA Filed Sept. 28, 1964 gofier/ Zf Z M 6% ML 4 #amgys United States Patent C RING CARRYING NORMALLY CONCEALED DATA Robert L. Boyd, 1935 S. Court St, Montgomery, Ala. 36104 Filed Sept. 2%, 1964, Ser. No. 399,751 3 Claims. (Cl. 63-1) This invention relates to a ring and has for its primary object the provision of such a ring which shall be formed of two sections and which may carry indicia that identifies an unaccompanied body of a dead or unconscious person.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ring of the character designated which may also carry cer tain data relative to the person, such as blood type, or whether the person is a diabetic or heart patient.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a ring of the character designated which is inconspicuous in that the indicia carrying portion is completely hid from view during normal usage.

A further object of my invention is to provide a ring of the character designated which is comfortable to wear and one in which the overall ornamental appearance thereof is not changed in any way.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a ring of the character designated which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and one which is practical in every respect for carrying indicia that identifies persons and abnormal health conditions of persons.

A band-type ring embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the ring in use;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, perspective view showing the ring removed from a finger of a user;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a modified form of my invention in which annular grooves are provided in both the outer female member and the inner male member.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, my improved ring comprises an outer, annular female member having an annular groove 11 in the inner surface thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. The female member 10 is formed of metal and preferably a precious metal such as gold. An indicia carrying member 12 is adapted to fit within the annular groove 11 whereby the indicia is exposed.

Projecting annularly into an annular recess in the outer, annular female member 10 is an inner, annular male member 13 which is formed of .a transparent material that will withstand considerable heat without deterioration, such as an acrylic plastic, whereby the indicia indicated generally at 14 is exposed, as shown in FIG. 2. Preferably, the inner, annular male member 13 is of a size to project annularly into an annular recess defined by inwardly sloping edges on the female member 10 adjacent opposite sides of the groove 11, as shown in FIG. 3 whereby it bears directly against the indicia carrying member 12, as shown in FIG. 3. The annular male member 13 is secured permanently to the annular female member 10 by suitable means, such as by heat sealing the members to each other or by cold curing acrylic plastic.

In FIG. 4 I show a band-type ring comprising an outer, female section 10 formed of metal and an inner male section 13 formed of a transparent plastic as dedescribed above. An annular groove 11 is provided in the female section 10 and an annular groove 15 is provided in the male section 13 The annular grooves 11 and 15 are in alignment with each other, as shown, for receiving an indicia carrying member 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the inner male members are of a size and shape to prevent contact of the outer female section with the finger of the wearer. Accordingly, the metal portion is held out of contact with the finger.

From the foregoing description, the use of my improved r-ing will be readily understood. Personal identification information is applied to the indicia carrying member 12, such as the social security number, army serial number, and blood type of the person. Where the person is a heart patient or diabetic, the inner, annular male member 13 is stained or colored a selected color to identify the abnormal health condition of the person. That is, one color would indicate that the person was a heart patient while another color might indicate that the person is a diabetic.

After applying the information to the indicia carrying member 12 and inserting the indicia carrying member within the annular groove 11, the annular male member 13 is positioned inwardly of the annular female member 10 by snapping the same in place, as shown in FIG. 3. The annular members 10 and 13 are then secured permanently to each other by conventional heat curing or cold curing processes whereby a watertight joint is provided between the male and female members. The indicia carrying member 12 is thus sealed in place whereby it is protected from moisture and at the same time is visible upon removing the ring from the finger of a wearer indicated generally at F.

The ring shown in FIG. 4 is employed in the same manner as the ring shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Instead of the indicia carrying member fitting within a single annular groove in the outer female member 10 it fits within matching annular grooves provided in both the male and female members.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised an improved ring which is extremely simple of manufacture and one which is inconspicuous due to the fact that it has the same overall ornamental appearance as a ring without my improved indicia carrying unit associated therewith. By forming the annular male member 13 or 13 as the case may be, of selected colors, any abnormal health condition of a person may be indicated immediately upon removal of the ring from the finger of a wearer. Furthermore, by providing identification information, such as the social security number, army serial number, and blood type of the wearer on the indicia carrying member 12 or 12 as the case may be, not only is the person identified but other critical information is made available.

While I have shown my invention in two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ornamental ring comprising,

(a) an outer annular female member having an annular recess along the inner surface thereof,

(b) an inner annular male member projecting annularly into said annular recess in said annular female member with a portion of said annular male member being transparent,

(0) there being an annular groove between said female member and said male member,

(d) an indicia carrying member fitting Within said annular groove with the indicia adjacent said transparent portion so that the indicia is visible through said annular male member but hidden by said annular female member, and

(e) means securing said annular male member to said annular female member to define a Water-tight seal therebetween.

2. A ring as defined in claim 1 in which the outer annular female member is formed of metal and the inner annular male member is formed of a transparent plastic material.

3. A ring as defined in claim 2 in which the male member is of a size and shape to hold the female member out of contact with the finger of a wearer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 298,100 5/1884 Lee 63-15 1,333,284 3/ 1920 Schreiber.

FOREIGN PATENTS 113,057 2/1918 Great Britain. 264,083 4/ 1929 Italy.

87,327 1/ 1958 Netherlands.

15 F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ORNAMENTAL RING COMPRISING (A) AN OUTER ANNULAR FEMALE MEMBER HAVING AN ANNULAR RECESS ALONG THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF, (B) AN INNER ANNULAR MALE MEMBER PROJECTING ANNULARLY INTO SAID ANNULAR RECESS IN SAID ANNULAR FEMALE MEMBER WITH A PORTION OF SAID ANNULAR MALE MEMBER BEING TRANSPARENT, (C) THERE BEING AN ANNULAR GROOVE BETWEEN SAID FEMALE MEMBER AND SAID MALE MEMBER, (D) AN INDICIA CARRYING MEMBER FITTING WITHIN SAID ANNULAR GROOVE WITH THE INDICIA ADJACENT SAID TRANSPARENT PORTION SO THAT THE INDICIA IS INVISIBLE THROUGH SAID ANNULAR MALE MEMBER BUT HIDDEN BY SAID ANNULAR FEMALE MEMBER, AND (E) MEANS SECURING SAID ANNULAR MALE MEMBER TO SAID ANNULAR FEMALE MEMBER TO DEFINE A WATER-TIGHT SEAL THEREBETWEEN. 